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Scientists at the University of Surrey and colleagues have pioneered a test which detects whether an individual has snorted cocaine or who has simply handled the drug.

The team has developed a non-invasive test using different types of an analytical chemistry technique called mass spectrometry to examine the fingerprints of suspects.

Fingerprints were compared with more commonly used saliva samples to determine whether the two tests correlated, the Daily Mail reports.

In previous research, similar techniques have been used but they have only been able to indicate anyone who has touched cocaine but not anyone who has snorted it.

It is thought the development in cocaine testing could be used to replace existing drug tests used by the probation services, prisons, courts and other law enforcement agencies.

Blood and urine tests currently used have limitations, including the fact that blood has to be taken by a trained nurse or other healthcare professional – and there are privacy issues surrounding urine testing. The researchers hope that as a result of the research, new portable methods of drug testing will be available to law enforcement agencies within the next ten years.

Dr Melanie Bailey from the University of Surrey said:

“When someone has taken cocaine, they excrete traces of benzoylecgonine and methylecgonine as they metabolise the drug – and these chemical indicators are present in fingerprint residue.

“For out part of the investigations, we sprayed a beam of solvent on to the fingerprint slide to determine if these substances were present.

“The technique has been used for a number of forensic applications, but no other studies have shown it to demonstrate drug use.

“By the very nature of the test, the identity of the subject is captured within the fingerprint ridge detail itself.

“We are only bound by the size of the current technology,' Dr Bailey added.

“Companies are already working on miniaturised mass spectrometers, and in the future portable fingerprint drugs tests could be deployed.

“This will help to protect the public and indeed provide a much safer test for drugs users.”

Researchers at the University of Surrey worked with colleagues at Netherlands Forensic Institute, the UK's National Physical Laboratory, King's College London and Sheffield Hallam University to pioneer the technique.

The findings of the research are published in the journal Analyst.

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